There’s one Hollywood actor that certainly doesn’t get the recognition they deserve. They’ve been in tons of blockbusters, they’re very deep and mysterious, they’re an essential part of many plotlines, and yet they’ve never won an Oscar. No, it’s not Leonardo DiCaprio – it’s the self storage unit!
Screenwriter Patrick Hasson says ‘storage sheds are just really fascinating’, and that’s mostly to do with the secrecy and mystery surrounding each one. From the outside, nobody knows what’s going on inside, allowing the imagination to run wild. From the inside, you’re trapped. Self storage units have become as important to horror films as Janet Leigh. They’ve become their own character, so let’s take a look at some of the times a self storage unit has drawn us viewers right in to the action:
Breaking Bad
Walter White’s favourite place for stashing his meth money? A self storage unit! Internet sleuths guessed that his total came in at anywhere between 17 and 25.5 million US Dollars.
Dexter
TV’s favourite serial killer seemed to loved enclosed spaces. Not only was he found as a baby inside a shipping container, he also found a collection of teeth inside a self storage unit. Yuk!
Family Guy
Glenn Quagmire is known for being a bit adventurous, but he meets his match in Sonya, who ties him up and locks him in a storage unit before he’s saved by his loyal cartoon friends.
There’s even been a few creepy movies that are specifically about self storage units. Films like Blood Shed, Self Storage, and Storage 24 all feature the mysterious facilities in a starring role!
Of course, self storage units don’t always get a bad rap. In fact, they’ve actually been an essential part of some of the most emotional moments in recent TV. Remember ‘The Big C’, starring Laura Linney as a terminal cancer patient trying to juggling her diagnosis with her family life? The scene where her son finds a storage unit full of presents and cards for all his future events that his mum wouldn’t be around for must have had every viewer shedding a tear or two. Who’s cutting onions in here?
Back to Reality
So are self storage units as dramatic as Hollywood makes them seem? Unfortunately not! In real life, there’s not much action happening at self storage facilities. One aspect that director’s have a tendency to overlook is that any reputable company will place huge importance of security, so anything that looks a bit dodgy – a trailer load of cold medicines being unloaded into a unit, for example, or a blanket wrapped around a body-shaped object – will get picked up by cameras. Self storage facilities are actually pretty mundane, but they’re great at keeping your stuff safe and secure!